Day 16/17 Phnom Penh

Day 16: checked out in the morning, no discussions after I expressed myself clearly annoyed. Next, bought a SIM card (Cambodia is a bit more expensive than Vietnam) and then dropped off my luggage at the new hostel with Grab.

Spontaneously spent the afternoon with Rob from Couchsurfing, he invited me to have vegetarian Indian food. Rob is in his mid-50s, a doctor from the Philippines. He has traveled to 153 countries in the last 17 years and has worked for Al Jazeera and the UN, among others. Interesting story but a bit of a crazy guy, still got a few good tips though.

Then went to S21 Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. A must-visit in Phnom Penh. Also not for the faint-hearted. The Khmer Rouge were absolutely insane. Just to give you an idea, there was a rule that screaming during torture was not allowed. If you're interested, you can Google the topic. I'm skipping the Killing Fields, they're too far away for me.

Then returned to the city center district with Grab and visited the main attractions (palaces and pagodas, and more pagodas). The riverside promenade is pretty nice and there's a lot of life there. Many families and public sports. Otherwise, there's not much here.

The new hostel is luxurious compared to the night before. Wonderful! After a refreshing shower, I had some food at a nearby market at a deep-frying station (communication feels a bit more difficult here). The rest of the evening was calm. The cold has improved a lot.

Day 17 starts off relaxed with tea in the lobby. The hostel is really good. In the morning and early afternoon, I checked out a few more sights (Wat Phnom, Central Market, Ounnalom Pagoda). Later, I met another local through Couchsurfing. A relatively young tuk-tuk driver, interesting to get to know the other side. Apparently, business is not going well since apps dominate the market. You can't negotiate prices anymore and the app providers take 20%. And he complained about how unsafe Phnom Penh is.

Watched the sunset at the rooftop bar of the hostel, I like the happy hour here. Later, there was a movie night in the hostel showing 'First They Killed My Father'. A film by Angelina Jolie about the Khmer Rouge.